There was a Brexit power struggle in Whitehall after Sir Ivan Rogers resigned

LONDON — The government's Brexit department tried to take direct
control over negotiations with the European Union after the
resignation of the EU ambassador earlier this week,
according to the Financial Times.

The FT reports that sources close to the Brexit process say Olly
Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting
the EU, tried to stop the appointment of a new British ambassador
to the EU after
Sir Ivan Rogers resigned earlier this week. Instead, Robbins
suggested the appointment of a lesser position of a
director-general who would report to him.

The Department for Exiting the EU denied Robbins made a landgrab
to the FT, saying the story was "fundamentally untrue." A
spokeswoman told the paper: "The Department for Exiting the EU is
fully behind Sir Tim’s appointment and we are looking forward to
him joining the leadership team."

Sir Ivan Rogers, the former EU ambassador,
resigned unexpectedly on Tuesday in a politically motivated
protest at the handling of Brexit negotiations by the government.

In a 1,400-word word resignation letter, Rogers called on
former colleagues to challenge "muddled thinking," and
"ill-founded arguments," and called for them to "speak truth to
power." He adds that "serious multilateral negotiating experience
is in short supply in Whitehall."